2016 Geography - Upcoming exam thread

[blossum]

Hello? Friends, friends, I'm no expert but let's discuss them land covers and stuff.
I know the last few threads on here have only a couple of hundred views, but it's worth a shot.
We have a brand spanking new study design, and it's hella scary.
Join me trying to cram in the next fortnight trying to get a SS of 30 lmao
This is for anyone who doesn't want to create a new thread because this section has a few cobwebs...

_ _ _
Resources:
VCAA Study Design 2016-2020 (It's pink! Download it if you haven't. And, it's pink)

Past exams and reports

• Even though the design's changed, go take a peak. You can learn some serious stuff.
  E.g. Students still have trouble with calling Africa a continent instead of a country according to the 2015 report

2016 VCAA practice paper <- Must do!
_ _ _

Starter questions, maybe?
Don't leave me lonely ;_;
Even if you don't reply here and just see this, these can help you with the most basic revision if you can't remember what you did this year LOL

Unit 3:
What place did you research?
Did you go on a field trip? Was it boring?

What places did you research for desertification, deforestation and melting glaciers and ice sheets?
Which of the three's distributions on a map do you find difficult remembering?

Unit 4:
Which countries did you research?
Do you have an interesting fact about one?

General:
Do you like geography this year?
What SS would you like to get/what SS do you think you'll get?
_ _ _

Feel free to drop by and let me know there's more than 1 person doing geography ATARNotes B^0
Feel free to also ask questions and if this gains any attention maybe we can start a band get some extra help for the upcoming exam?
And if it doesn't, maybe students of next year will not be afraid to start some conversation in this sub forum.
Like, I don't know if anyone will respond but lurking geo students cooould pass by as the exam gets closer.. really close.. super close..

[FallingStar]

Hello fellow student.
Nice Signature by the way. How ironic was it that I saw this whilst I was just doing Geography in the state library.
I am really aware of how this section has next to none posts, however, I really think that we should help out here as there are going to be some students stuck about this brand new study design.

Unit 3:
What place did you research?
Former Alphington Paper Mill, located on the corner of Heidleberg Rd and Chandler Hwy. In the suburb of Alphington of course.
Did you go on a field trip? Was it boring?
Yes I did. It wasn't actually boring. There were some really interesting speakers in the filed trip. We had the council, the developer, and APMAG (resident advocacy group) speak to us. My personal favourite out of them was the councillor who specialised in this particular change from industrial to mixed use zoning.

What places did you research for desertification, deforestation and melting glaciers and ice sheets?
Desertification: Niger
Deforestation: Cameroon
Melting Glaciers + Ice sheets: Greenland

Which of the three's distributions on a map do you find difficult remembering?
I find them all difficult actually. Damn it. Can't bloody remember maps and this is geography. 

Unit 4:
Which countries did you research?
Ageing: Japan
Growing: Bangladesh
Do you have an interesting fact about one?
No. Not really at the moment. However, I would like to point out that including data is a must if you are to get a high score in Geography, which will involve some memorisation and research. So I honestly really cannot recommend looking at the CIA world fact book enough for your population case studies and (maybe) your land case studies too. Plus, you may find some really useful data that your teachers haven't given you yet, or not in the textbook. And a bonus: I works for any country that you study, even if they are not in your textbooks (assuming you are using the GTAV one).

General:
Do you like geography this year?
Yeah. I enjoyed it. Of course.
What SS would you like to get/what SS do you think you'll get?
Lols. Mid to high 30s perhaps. Although some people in my class think I can get 40.

[taylorcrivari]

Which statistics should I be focusing my attention on the most to remember for the exam?

[FallingStar]

Which statistics should I be focusing my attention on the most to remember for the exam?

This question is probably more appropriate for an geography questions thread but unfortunately, we don't have one of the forums as of yet. And given the number of people doing Geography, I don't know if it is worth creating a thread as such.

In terms of you question, I recommend you remember data from the following areas of your study:
  - All of your case study countries from both unit 3 and unit 4
  - Responses to your case studies from both unit 3 and 4: eg. why they needed it, how much it helped, what they did
  - Some fieldwork data for you particular area.
  - Global population statistics

How much is enough you may ask?

You have known enough data off by heart if you can do a 10 marker in the exam can justify your answer very clearly. They usually go by something along the line of "evaluate a <scale> response to <issue/phenomena>?" For fieldwork, you need enough to clearly show the examiner that you are talking about one particular place and can talk about both the positives and negatives of your land use change with data as evidence. Global population statistics tend to be quite general questions like "describe the change in the distribution of global population," where there is not data associated with it. So that's why you would need to know global population.

And the numerical amount will depend on each person and on the case study that you are doing so I can't really comment on the numerical number of data you need to remember.

[blossum]

Thanks FallingStar !
Don't worry.. I can't remember the maps either hahaa. For my practice exam I somehow blended areas of desertification and melting glaciers on the map and my teacher didn't notice LOL.

Which statistics should I be focusing my attention on the most to remember for the exam?

Adding on to FallingStar:
If I had 5c every time my teacher emphasised the phrase "killer facts" I'd have enough to buy out VCAA to get me an ATAR of 99.96.
It's a tiny bit like with english text response - put in the ones that are relevant, not just because you remember them. Although geography is a bit more lenient than that...
Have you attempted the practice VCAA exam + gotten it marked?
This is super broad, but generally statistics are needed for explaining impacts and evaluating effectiveness for literally every single place you research ;_;
Here's one of my answers:

• GTAV Geography Trial Examination Paper 2016 Exam B
  Q8b) Discuss two or more issues and challenges caused by [country]'s growing population. (6 marks)
  Financial burden on the new generation:
  Labelled the 4:2:1 problem, a side effect of the national one child policy in 1979, new generations will need to support both their parents and grandparents alone. China's population is steadily increasing, with the population increasing over 16 million per year, thus this widespread issue will require a solution soon.
  As the population grows, so does the gender imbalance:
  There is currently an 100:117 ratio of girls to boys in the country overall, which results in over 50 million 'missing girls', or 'surplus men'. For those men who are heterosexual, it will be difficult finding a wife.
  (⇓⇓I added this part, but it was not assessed because it was irrelevant to the "growth" section of the question (more relevant to "movement"). So, do not include data without reading the question carefully haha⇓⇓)
  Parents are abandoning their children:
  Parents, in order, to provide for their children in rural areas need to work in urban areas for extended periods of time - visiting their children on average 0-4 times a year. This phenomenon results in 60 million children without parents at home, relying on grandparents or other family to take care of them. Of these abandoned children, 1/3 of them have been proved to become involved in criminal offences, whilst another third become mentally ill.
  

My teacher gave me 6/6, however I added that last bit for nothing lmao. I kind of think it was generous though..
(Marks distributed: For each factor- "1 for identifying a valid factor, 2 for elaboration including quantification, use of relevant evidence or example")

My teacher said since assessors love clarity, separating your answers if it's hinted in the question is the easiest way for assessors to give you the marks in a 2+ mark question.
e.g. in above the criteria was for identifying and explaining, and I separated the factor and the explanation. This is also very useful for responding to "evaluate the effectiveness using appropriate criteria" questions, where you can literally write:
Social - 65% of users of the playground were first time users..
Environmental - The destruction of the...

PS I freaking HOPE there is no 10 mark question lmaooo I'll scream. (VCAA sample exam 2016 Q13 - Assess the relevance of Malthus’s ideas in meeting the challenges of a rapidly growing population today, 10 marks)

[whatevenisexams]

Hello fellow student.
Nice Signature by the way. How ironic was it that I saw this whilst I was just doing Geography in the state library.
I am really aware of how this section has next to none posts, however, I really think that we should help out here as there are going to be some students stuck about this brand new study design.

Unit 3:
What place did you research?
Former Alphington Paper Mill, located on the corner of Heidleberg Rd and Chandler Hwy. In the suburb of Alphington of course.
Did you go on a field trip? Was it boring?
Yes I did. It wasn't actually boring. There were some really interesting speakers in the filed trip. We had the council, the developer, and APMAG (resident advocacy group) speak to us. My personal favourite out of them was the councillor who specialised in this particular change from industrial to mixed use zoning.

What places did you research for desertification, deforestation and melting glaciers and ice sheets?
Desertification: Niger
Deforestation: Cameroon
Melting Glaciers + Ice sheets: Greenland

Which of the three's distributions on a map do you find difficult remembering?
I find them all difficult actually. Damn it. Can't bloody remember maps and this is geography. 

Unit 4:
Which countries did you research?
Ageing: Japan
Growing: Bangladesh
Do you have an interesting fact about one?
No. Not really at the moment. However, I would like to point out that including data is a must if you are to get a high score in Geography, which will involve some memorisation and research. So I honestly really cannot recommend looking at the CIA world fact book enough for your population case studies and (maybe) your land case studies too. Plus, you may find some really useful data that your teachers haven't given you yet, or not in the textbook. And a bonus: I works for any country that you study, even if they are not in your textbooks (assuming you are using the GTAV one).

General:
Do you like geography this year?
Yeah. I enjoyed it. Of course.
What SS would you like to get/what SS do you think you'll get?
Lols. Mid to high 30s perhaps. Although some people in my class think I can get 40.

that's so funny, I'm actually doing all the exact same case studies for land cover and popoulation O_O

[FallingStar]

PS I freaking HOPE there is no 10 mark question lmaooo I'll scream. (VCAA sample exam 2016 Q13 - Assess the relevance of Malthus’s ideas in meeting the challenges of a rapidly growing population today, 10 marks)

Lols. I believe that they are going to put at least one 10 marker in the actual exam, although the sample was a bit cruel for you since they've put in two of them. And plus, there's 108 marks in that bloody exam paper but VCAA proclaims that the total mark for the examination will be 80. So their paper there is probably a compilation of possible styles questions you could get on the actual exam. So in summary: Be prepared for 10 markers in the exam. They probably will put one in.

that's so funny, I'm actually doing all the exact same case studies for land cover and popoulation O_O

Do we even go to the same school? (I presume not he he ). But I think you imply that your fieldwork is different. If so, what was your fieldwork areas (research area). Warning: Be prepared for questions on the Exam on your fieldwork too. Questions on fieldwork do tend to be quite generic though. And most of the population case study ones have been generic, so you should be able choose between either one of your case studies in most cases. The exception is when the question specifically tells you to do an ageing population or a growing population. Examples of these would be (I wrote those questions, so no teachers involved here) :
 - Describe a national response to an ageing population.
 - Discuss one major factor that has contributed to the growing population of the country named above.
 - Outline one issue and the related challenge that have developed as a result of the growing population.

But I may be wrong: I've only done 4 exams to date (in conjunction with past VCAA questions that are relevant to the current study design)

[whatevenisexams]

PS I freaking HOPE there is no 10 mark question lmaooo I'll scream. (VCAA sample exam 2016 Q13 - Assess the relevance of Malthus’s ideas in meeting the challenges of a rapidly growing population today, 10 marks)

is there a way to structure 10 mark questions? idk because my teacher just gives me full marks for the question but i dont know where the marks are coming from so i dont actually know what im doing right or if he's just being generous because he's a nice guy. i know subjects like legal have a structure (basically a 3 page essay) but im really unsure about geo and anything above 6 marks makes me want to run like a headless chook

[whatevenisexams]

Do we even go to the same school? (I presume not he he ). But I think you imply that your fieldwork is different. If so, what was your fieldwork areas (research area). Warning: Be prepared for questions on the Exam on your fieldwork too. Questions on fieldwork do tend to be quite generic though. And most of the population case study ones have been generic, so you should be able choose between either one of your case studies in most cases. The exception is when the question specifically tells you to do an ageing population or a growing population. Examples of these would be (I wrote those questions, so no teachers involved here) :
 - Describe a national response to an ageing population.
 - Discuss one major factor that has contributed to the growing population of the country named above.
 - Outline one issue and the related challenge that have developed as a result of the growing population.

But I may be wrong: I've only done 4 exams to date (in conjunction with past VCAA questions that are relevant to the current study design)

haha we dont go to the same school .... there's only 12 people in my geo class so i know all of them ...
I went to Richmond for my fieldwork which was okay
are there any other practice exams other than VCAA and GTAV???

[FallingStar]

haha we dont go to the same school .... there's only 12 people in my geo class so i know all of them ...
I went to Richmond for my fieldwork which was okay
are there any other practice exams other than VCAA and GTAV???

The only other company exam I've got from my school was Insight 2016 exam. So that's why I've mentioned the exam questions that are still relevant to this study design.

Looking at VCAA past papers, I feel like that the population questions are still very relevant to our study. You can twist the fieldwork questions to suit the new study design by replacing "local resource" with "land use" or "land use change" and replacing "spatial interaction" with "interconnection." (If there are anything else in the question, feel free to post it and I will twist the fieldwork question to suit our study design to the best of my ability).  Also, for the previous global phenomena questions change them into land cover questions by replacing the words "global phenomena" into "land cover change" and "policy" into "strategy." And if you need me to attempt to twist any question, feel free to PM me.

But that being said, the Murray Darling basin questions are not relevant to the new study design, unless it talks about changes to the land use. So feel free to ignore these questions.